What does writer trying to convey?

"Although I cannot claim any experience or substantial knowledge in the area of language pedagogy, I do recognize how essential it is. There seems little doubt that, in the broad field of language and linguistics, the applied, pedagogical side outstrips the theoretical side in terms of intrinsic importance, numbers of practitioners, and the securing of institutional tolerance. The applied folk are, as it were, carrying linguistic theoreticians on their back. Not only that, but the burden tends to be heavy, onerous, and quite unappreciative. Perhaps cognitive linguistics will prove to be lighter, less onerous, and more appreciative than certain previous theoretical burdens. I hope it will even prove useful. Let me try to contribute by sketching some pedagogical implications of cognitive linguistic theory, and some possible directions of research. I see the effectiveness of pedagogical applications as an important empirical test for linguistic theories. My suspicion is that, in the long run, cognitive grammar will not fare badly in this regard."

I don't get most of context here, but here's what I understand

"Although I cannot claim any experience or substantial knowledge in

the area of language pedagogy"

The writer implies that he/she doesn't have any fundamental knowledge about language education.